Lucas sighed. He would've put up a fight had Carolyn not been present. Hell, he probably would have welcomed the challenge. But he couldn't let his pride get in the way, not when it meant endangering her. He put up a finger before he turned around to talk to Carolyn.
"Let me turn—"
"No!" Carolyn interrupted, her voice low but unyielding. He knew she wouldn't agree to the change, regardless of their situation. "I"ll go with them." Lucas started to protest, but once again, Carolyn interjected. "It's okay, really. Just find me later." With a faint smile, Carolyn walked past Lucas to face the soldiers. "Well, I obviously have no choice, so let's get this over with." Carolyn took a quick look behind her, but Lucas was gone. Good.
With a grin, the main soldier gestured at his companions. Two of them dropped down to ground level, and began tracking down Lucas. Even if he wasn't a human, they could always take him for extra credit. If worst came to worst, they could kill him for fun. After all, he had resisted them, hadn't he? And that gave them free reign to do whatever they wanted, didn't it?
"A most sensible choice, young lady!" The lead vampire stepped forward, as the only vampire remaining on the roof aimed his rifle at Carolyn. As long as Lucas was still in the area there was a danger he would spontaneously reappear. It was a classic, to jump the enemy when they were about to claim their prize. "Just put this on, and you'll be out in a moment. And when next you wake up, this'll all be over." The vampire was holding out some sort of face-mask, presumably it would knock out whomever wore it. A knife had appeared in his other hand, and there was no question what the penalty for disobedience was.
Carolyn rolled her eyes. She wasn't a fan of theatrics, and the guy was getting on her last nerve. "Fine, but just know that I would have gone quietly, so this isn't necessary at all." She eyed the strange mask, then the knife. It seemed that she'd be alright for the moment as long as she complied. Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for Lucas as he was now being chased as well. With a sigh, Carolyn donned the mask, unsure of what to expect.
Within moments the mask would take effect, and the last thing Carolyn would see before the darkness swallowed her would be the vampire stepping forward, as if to catch her.
.......
The truck was grungy, and there were many other people in there with Carolyn. All of them appeared to be women older than 18, but there were no elderly. While some of them were crying or whispering under their breath, most of them remained silent as the truck heaved beneath them. Several bodies could be seen on the floor, those who had yet to wake up. The only light in this truck was provided by an LED light in the ceiling, casting the entire room into a dim yellow light.
Carolyn stirred, her eyelids heavier than normal. Very faintly, she heard noises in the background--cries and chatter which slowly brought her back to her senses. She opened her eyes only to squint, the bright overhead light shining directly down on her. Carolyn looked around and immediately learned that she was in a moving vehicle. She slowly sat up, turning to the woman nearest her.
"Where are we going?"
There was no answer. Nobody was willing to speak up, or even move much. Most of the occupants just stared at a wall, or their own hands. It seemed that, given no options, humans naturally fell into this kind of despair. Certainly it was an oppressive atmosphere.
After some time had passed the truck would come to a halt. As the passengers murmured among themselves the doors were swung wide open, filling the back of the truck with harsh sunlight. Several vampires in uniform clambered in and began dragging people out of the truck, and someone was shouting something outside. Most of those inside were pulled out with little resistance, but shouting and crying could be heard in the distance. It appeared that there were more trucks than just this one.
Outside Carolyn would see that they were somewhere in the woods. Not far away she could see what looked like a wall, and a gate that was even now closing. But the rough hand of one of the vampiric workers quickly pushed her in the opposite direction, towards a large white building. It was an imposing building, with thick walls and small windows. Two heavy wooden doors were opened to allow a steady stream of prisoners, for that was what they were now, into this building. And in fact the inside appeared to have once been a prison block, now under new management. The walls were newly painted, and vampiric janitors could be seen scrubbing away at the floors. Past what looked like a reception were rows of cells, although those too had been recently refurbished. Already people were being assigned to different areas, with a variety of military vampires arguing about who belonged where. One vampire singled Carolyn out and led her towards a series of cells, declaring that this area was for young female prisoners.
Carolyn's cell was nice, for a prison cell. The iron bars had been replaced with double glass, allowing her a view of the cell across from her own. An average-looking bed and wardrobe had been placed inside, and there was even a button that turned the glass walls opaque. Although nothing could block the view of the camera placed in the corner, which kept it's glassy gaze on her. On a small bedside table a platter of food waited, which looked like it had arrived there not long before she had. Slabs of ham in gravy, baked potato slices and sliced cucumber. Perhaps not a grand meal, but a good shot better than usual prison fare.
Carolyn was never particularly fond of dealing with a lack of privacy. She leaned over her bed to grab the pillow case, then pushed the small chair against the wall. Predictably, they would correct the issue as soon as they became aware of it, but she could buy some time for now. Carolyn stepped up on the chair and draped the pillow case over the camera. With a smile, she stepped down, then pressed the button to make the glass opaque.
Instead of using the table to eat, Carolyn grabbed the tray, placed it on the bed, and sat down next to it with her back against the wall. Such attitude stemmed from her belief that she wouldn't be locked in there for long, regardless of what it took. She lazily picked at her food after that, her mind preoccupied with her escape more than anything else.
